X-POSITION: Chris Claremont

When they say you can’t go home again, it’s often a shorthand way to tell a person that after leaving a special place or moment in their life, it won’t seem the same when they return.

But wouldn’t it be great in certain circumstances to go back to something at the exact moment you left? Well, writer Chris Claremont is getting this exact opportunity with the upcoming “X-Men Forever.”

Back in 1991, Claremont wrote three issues of the then-new “X-Men” title before creative differences caused him to leave the series. Now, he gets to pick up where he left off and show fans what his creative vision was and where he planned to take Marvel’s merry mutants.

As you can imagine, readers had questions when this new book was announced. Thankfully, X-POSITION is here to help you get them answered! Welcome home, Chris Claremont!

CBR: Caleb Warren begins our little question procession today with some kind words along with inquiries about two Claremont series – “GeNext” and “X-Men Forever.” Let see if we can help him out…

First of all, I'd just like to tell you how much I admire and respect you and your work. Secondly, are there any elements from the X-books established after you left that you plan on using for “X-Men Forever?”

CHRIS CLAREMONT: Firstly, thank you for your kind words, they’re much appreciated. Secondly, given the premise of “Forever” – that we’re picking up right where I left off in “X-Men” #3 – the events you refer to haven’t happened yet. This world, the characters – indeed the very concept of the X-Men team itself – are all about to undergo a dynamic and ongoing evolution. How it affects the characters themselves, and the future that lies ahead of them, is something the readers will see as the book progresses.

Pages from "X-Men Forever" #1

And regarding “GeNext,” it may just be that I'm slow on the uptake, but can you please explain Megan Summers' powers?

Megan Summers is a high-order world-class telepath, just like her Mom. (Unlike her Mom, she doesn’t turn into diamond.)

Manuel Rodriguez is next, and he was wondering if there’s a doctor in the house?

You have showed quite an affinity to writing and giving a voice to the “forgotten” X-Men member Dr. Cecilia Reyes over the years. Since she happens to be a somewhat prominent character in “GeNext,” is there any chance of her children joining this future incarnation of the X-Men or introducing her in “X-Men Forever?"

There’s always a chance. I like Cecilia and, being a Doctor, she’d certainly be of value to the team. The challenge for the series is that there’s just this one book to chronicle the team’s adventures – which means, regrettably, there simply isn’t room to touch base with everyone I (or readers) might like. Cliché as it might sound, we’ll all have to wait and see.

As for “GeNext,” since the story is being told in a series of (hopefully ongoing) miniseries, there isn’t a whole lot of spare room. This difference, I’m afraid, falls between what seems cool and what’s actually practical/doable. Hope this helps.

It’s Benjamin Ring’s turn, and he had some casting requests as well.

I'm a huge fan of your work and am very excited for “X-Men Forever” so we can see what you truly intended! What can we look forward to with Psylocke and Dazzler? There was no Revanche at this time, and Dazzler had not yet gone to Mojoworld with Longshot. Will we see some very divergent paths for these characters outside of what we got under other writers in the 90s, or are they not really on the radar?

Pages from "X-Men Forever" #1

Thanks for your kind words, Ben. I very much look forward to hearing your response to the book itself when the run itself starts. As for these characters, Betsy is back in the UK with Brian. Dazzler, I suspect, is still on the “road” with Longshot. As for what the future has in store for them, you’ll simply have to wait and see.

We’ve covered quite a few mutants thus far, but Matt Platis was wondering how the humans will fare…

Will “X-Men Forever” include characters outside of the main X-Universe? Could we see the classic Avengers (not the “New,” “Mighty” or “Dark” ones running around) appear?

Yes.

Valeria Kementari had a couple of queries. Let’s see if we can appease her curious nature.

Will we ever see Caledonia from your great FF run ever again?

Doubtful, I’m afraid, since she was created after the “X-Men” #3 cut-off. But this is comics, remember, anything’s possible.

Will there be mentions of the other X-teams out there from the ‘90s period in “X-Men Forever?”

Yes.

David Branson has a few ideas he’d like to see followed up in “Forever.” I wonder if his wishes will come true…

Pages from "X-Men Forever" #1

I love your work…and I love your “classic” alternate worlds. I am glad we have two of them from you coming up with both “GeNext” and “X-Men Forever.” I have a couple of requests though:

Can you let Mariko and Logan finally get married without all the tragedy? I think Logan deserves some happiness given how depressing his life has been the last few years in the 616 universe. Similarly, I'd love to see some of the things you didn't get to develop continue on, like Kurt and Amanda, Kitty and Peter, etc.

Thank you for the kind words. As for your questions, however, I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait and see. You’ll start getting some answers pretty much right off the bat.

Joshua sent in a handful of questions that covered topics other fans were curious about too!

If the “New Exiles” had continued, where would we have seen the characters go from there? Would Psylocke still have played an active role on that team?

“New Exiles” was a lot of fun but its future now rests in the very capable hands of the book’s editor, Mark Paniccia. Your questions are best directed at him and the series’ current creative team.

I keep noticing that in preview art for “X-Men Forever” we see several X-Men except for Psylocke, Banshee, Forge, Colossus, Iceman and Archangel. Will we be seeing these characters in the series? And am I right to assume we will see Shadowcat and Nightcrawler in the book even though they were not members at the time?

Simplest answers: yes, we’ll be touching base with all the X-canon characters over the course of time, though perhaps not necessarily in the way folks expect. As regards Kitty and Kurt, their presence will be defined in the first arc.

Pages from "X-Men Forever" #1

Will Jubilee have a role in “X-Men Forever?” I always wondered why she wasn't in your starting story arc for "X-Men" Vol. 1. Why didn't you include her in that story? Was she intended by you to be a full member of the X-Men as seen after your absence?

I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait and see. Life for the X-Men is about to undergo some radical and substantive changes which will affect them all to a significant extent. What happens next is something readers will have to discover as the teams’ lives go along.

So with “X-Men Forever” being set from the early “X-Men” time period, will we see Rogue with Ms. Marvel’s superstrength, speed, flight and endurance? Please say yes!

As of page 1 of “X-Men Forever” #1, Rogue’s abilities are what they were in #’s 1-3. However, by the end of the issue, things for a number of characters will change, dramatically. From that point on, everything about their lives is up for grabs.

Here are two quick queries from Mustafe Abdulle. How about some quick answers?

While they are not from your era, will any of the present New X-Men show up in “X-Men Forever?”

Doubtful, I’m afraid.

Will deaths occur of longtime X-Men in this new series?

Yes.

Pages from "X-Men Forever" #1

Finishing things up for us today is Sharif Youssef, who wanted to share his thoughts about a storyline from days gone by…

I'm really excited about “X-Men Forever.” I remember the many hints you dropped that Tessa wasn't fully loyal to the Hellfire Club back in the day. Now that you have a chance to pick up your story where you left off, is there any chance we'll see Tessa reprise her role as Xavier's agent? I'd love to her story with Xavier and Shaw developed further as well as any ambivalence she might have about spying on one of the men who saved her life.

Sage keeps her own council. You should also not forget that as far as the X-Men are concerned, the Hellfire Club represents one of their most formidable adversaries. Emma’s still very much the White Queen and in no way even a nascent hero. As for what’s ahead for Shaw and Charley, that’s a (potential) story for the future.

For now, the focus of the series is on the presentation of new and increasingly more dangerous adversaries – which may well force the X-Men, and Hellfire Club (and by extension the New Mutants and Hellions) to form an alliance simply for their own survival. And won’t that be fun?

That concludes our little fireside X-chat for the day, but we’ll be back next week to do a bit of celebrating! If you’ve seen the latest Hollywood news, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was huge at the box office last weekend; so what better way to acknowledge this than to have Jason Aaron, writer of “Weapon X,” join us to answer your questions about Wolverine’s newest series!

Channel your inner mutant, type up some thought-provoking questions, and send them my way as quickly as you can. And please, put an “X-Position” in the subject line. If you don’t, you might have to witness my poor imitation of Wolverine’s berserker rage…Snikt! Snikt!